Oil-well cleaner.



PATENTED MAR. 26, 1907.

F. N. SGOPIELD.

OIL WELL CLEANER.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. 21. 1906.v

J4/wanton,

ttoznm ald UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRED N. sooFIELD, oF KERN, CALIFORNIA.

OIL-WELL CLEANER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 26, 1907.

Application filed November 21, 1906. Serial No. 344,475.

in the county of Kern and State of Califor-v nia, haveinvented a new and useful Oil-Well Cleaner, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in oil-well cleaners.

In oil-fields where oil is obtained from strata of oilesand it is customary to line the wells with a casing and to perforate the casing at the oints Where strata of oil-sand lie or to line t e well from-the top to the bottom with perforated easing.- These perforations often become clog ed,'and it has been the practice to pump oi into 'the well for the purlpose of forcing the sandback, and thereby opening the perforations. This method has lbeen only partially successful, as .the pressure is applied only at the bottom of thewell, the

oil flowing 4out through the perforations at the bottom, making 1t impossible to get a pressure on the upper vportions of the well. There are usually several strata of oil-sand in a well, sometimes separated by many feet of barren ground, and it is impossible by the said method to apply the pressure at any desired point in thewellcs isin'gz' The object of the present invention isi to provide a well-cleaner by which oil maybe pumped into a well and the pressure applied to and confined at any portion of the wellcasing, so that the perforations at anyone of the strata of oil-sand may becleaned.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the construction and novel combination of parts hereinafter `fully described, illustrated in `the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size, and

minor dtails of construction Vwithin the scope of the claimsmay beresorted to Without departing from the s irit or sacrificing any of the advanta es of t einvention.

In the drawings, igure 1 is a side elevation of a well-'olea device constructed in accordance with this invention and shown applied to a well, the well-casing being in sec-` tion. F' 2 is a longitudinal sectional view ofthe We -cleaning device. 8 is an enlarged transversesec'tional view illustrating the construction of the valves. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail sectional view illustrating the mannerof securing the spring to the rela tively movable disks or flanges of the valves.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawlngs. l

l designates a tube, having its lower end 2 closed and provided at its lowe'portion with perforations 3 for the discharge of oil or any other Huid ,which is pumped into the well ihrough the tube 1 when it is desired to clean the well. The tube 1, which forms a stem or rod, is adapted to be raised and lowered to arrange' the perforations 3 at any portion of awell.

In order to conine the oil or other fluid and the pressure at any desired portion of the well-casing, the tube is provided with upper and lower valves 6 and 7, which may be eupshaped, -a's shown, or any other preferred construction and which are adapted tol close the well-casing at the top and bottom of the, perforated portions of the tube 1. The cupshaped portions or members of the valves lower valve is supported at the lower face by a similar flange 10, which is formed integral with a sleeve 11, and the latter is in the form of a cap and has a bottom wall 12, which closes the said lower end 2 of the tube.

Each of the valves'is provided with a relatively movable rotary member 13, having one or more openings 14, which are adapted to be carried into and out of register with corresponding openings 15 of the flanges 8 and 10. When the openings are in register, the liquid within the well is permitted to flow through the valves to enable the cleaner to be readilv moved upward o r downward in the well. The relatively movable members are arranged at the inner faces of the flexible members of `the valves, and the openings 15 'eX-' tend through the said flexible members. The relative movement ofthe rotary meme bers is limited by projections or pins 16,

IOO

fixed to the flanges 8 and 10 andeXtending into short curved slots 17 of the rotary members. The attached ends of the pins or projections are preferably threaded, as shown, to engage threaded perforations of the flanges 8 and 10. Y

The rotary members, which are in the form of disks or similar flanges, are provided with central openings to receive the tube 1 and are retained in position with relation to the flexible cup-shaped members by means of sleeves 18 and are provided with springs 19. sleeves are suitably secured to the tube 1 and are spaced from the sleeves 9 and 1 1,

The springs 19, which are adapted to flexibly engage the well-casing, are located be tween the valves and are secured to the movable disksr or members .by rivets 20 or other suitablefastening devices. When the cleaner is introduced into a well, the curved springs flexibly engage the well.- casing and will hold the disks or members 18 stationary, while the tube is partially rotated for operating the valves. The rotary movement of the tube 1 will cover or uncover the openings through the valves, and when the openings are covered oil or other iluid may be pumped into the Well or through the tube, and the upper and lower valves will confine the oil or other fluid to the particular perforated portion of the well-casing desired to be operated on. be applied at any point without applying the pressure throughout the entire well. This will enable the perforated portions of the oilwells to be more effectively cleaned than heretoforeand with less oil or otherfluid.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is#- 1'. A well-cleaner com risinga tube forming a passage for al liqui l and having an out- A let, said tube bein also rovidedwith means for closing it be ow t e said outlet, and spaced means mounted on the tube and engagingwith the wall of the well for confining the liquidwithin a section or portion of the said well. 2. Awell-cleaner comprising a tube forming a passage for a liquid and having an outlet and rovi ded also with means for closing it below vt e outlet, and valves for confining the liquid within a portion or, section of the well.

, 3. A well-cleanercomplrising a tube form.

ing apassage foi' oil or ot er liuid and having an outlet and provided also with means for closing it below the outlet, and valves. located above and below the outlet and arranged vto close the well yfor coniining the oil or other fluid within a portion orv lsection of the same.

4. A A-wellfcleaner comprising a tube forming a passage for oil or other fluid and ha an outlet and provided also'w1th meansglfliirclosing itv below the outlet, and valves located above and below-the` outlet for closing The- By this construction the pressure may a well above and below the said outlet and confining the oil or other fluid, said valves having openings and provided with means for covering and uncovering the same.

5. A wellfcleaner comprising a tube forming a passage for oil or other fluid and .having an outlet and provided also with means for closing it below 'the outlet, valves located and below the perforated portion for closing y a well.

7. A well-cleaner comprising a tube closed at the lower end and forated portion, valves located at the ends of the perforated portion and arranged to close awell above and below the said perforated portion, said valves having openings and relatively movable members arrangedl to cover and uncover thesaid openings and provided with springs for engaging the Walls of 'the wells, whereby lthe yrelatively movable members are adapted to be operated through the movement of the tube.

8. A Well-cleaner comprising a tube having a perforated portion and provided with means for closing itbelow the same, valves located above and below the erforatel portion for closing a well, said vzves being provided with openings, relatively movable members arranged t'o cover and uncover the openings, said members having slots, and projections mounted-on thevalves and operatingin the slots f or limiting the ,relative movement of the members I9. A well-cleaner comprising a tube having a perforated portion and provided with ^provided with a peri IIC means for closing it below the same, and ex# terior valves carried by the tube above and x below the said perforated portion, said valvesv l being constructed to engage the wall of the well, for-the purpose set forth..

1 A well-cleaning device provided with a passage for a liquid and having an outlet for the same, and spaced means located above and below the outlet and engaging the wallof-the well for confiniA 1g the liquid within a section or portion lof tl. e well. A In testimony that I claim the foregoing as inlzhe presence of two wltnesses. i

` FRED'N. SCOFIELD. Witnesses:

FRED E. BoRToN, E. M. SCOTT. i

own -I have hereto affixed my signature` 

